iTMS full-album purchasing issues...

Angry iTunes Music Store customers are posting in Apple's forums, wondering why they cannot buy various albums online. Numerous users of both Macintosh and Windows iTunes software have received errors suggesting that the contents of their shopping carts have changed, that the server cannot be located, or that the album they are attempting to purchase has been modified. Some customers reported receiving all of these errors at different times, while still others found that the store works at random times but repeatedly returns to a non-operational state. One user changed her network settings which seemed to remedy the problem; however the solution appears to work for some customers and not others.

Apple ships 30 millionth iPod

Apple announced today that it has shipped over 30 million iPods since 2001. Apple also said it has sold over 600 million songs via its iTunes Music Store since its launch. Gene Munster of investment research firm PiperJaffray recently said he expects Apple to reach 37 million iPods by the year's end. The holiday shopping season is expected to give a major boost to iPod sales, further bolstered by the availability of the iPod nano and video-capable iPod. “We expect the iPod to continue to be a foundation for growth in other parts of Apple’s business, and we expect that by the end of calendar 2005 more than 37m iPods will have shipped, providing Apple with a greater scope of awareness for various products.”

Briefly: iPod batteries; Sims 2 University

In brief: Sonnet today announced a new line of high-capacity iPod replacement batteries for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation models (including iPod with color display), as well as iPod mini.... The Sims 2 University for Macintosh final system requirements have been set to Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later with a PowerPC G4/G5 running at 1.2Ghz or faster.... BeLight Software is offering a set of free Christmas-related images for their software, Mail Factory and Swift Publisher.... The SANS Top 20 Internet Security Vulnerabilities list shows Mac OS X as one of the operating systems vulnerable to attacks, specifically referencing the Safari Web browser.... Apple's chief designer Jonathan Ive--the man credited for the groundbreaking industrial designs of the iMac and iPod--was sat down for a rare interview yesterday.

iTunes to rise in top 10 next year?

Apple's iTunes may find itself much higher on next year's top 10 list of music retailers, following its abrupt rising to seventh place this year. Apple has sold over 30 million iPods to date, and the iTunes Music Store had--as of October--sold 600 million songs worldwide. Apple yesterday signed long-term supply agreements with five with major NAND flash memory manufacturers to prepare for increased demand of iPod models which utilize the currently-rare chips, but worries that Apple may be too late for the holiday season have caused some analysts to speculate that iPods may be in short supply, which could cause the company to fall short of Wall Street expectations for the December quarter while simultaneously hampering iTunes' ranking in the top 10 for next year.

Sonnet offers high-capacity iPod batteries

Sonnet Technologies today announced a new line of high-capacity iPod replacement batteries for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation models (including iPod with color display), and iPod mini. Sonnet says each "kit" includes all the required tools, as well as detailed installation instruction videos in English, French, German, and Japanese. Sonnet says its high-capacity batteries exceed original Apple specifications-- up to 75 precent greater in the case of the original 1st and 2nd generation batteries. "A video is worth a hundred illustrations," says Robert Farnsworth, Sonnet CEO, of the included video installation instructions on a CD-ROM. "While opening an iPod isn't something everyone will attempt, the high quality instructional videos guide the user in an easy-to-follow procedure." The batteries are expected to ship this month for £24 (1st/2nd generation iPods) and £20 (3rd and 4th generation iPod).

Holiday iPod shortages expected...

Apple's iPod digital music player is going to be a colossal hit this holiday season, but there are going to be shortages. How short supplies will actually be is difficult to predict, because Apple is secretive about business practices as well as product supplies, according to BusinessWeek. Some retailers say they're getting far fewer iPods than they requested--in two cases, fewer than half of their weekly orders--and Circuit City expects demand to outstrip supply through the end of the year. The supply of flash memory seems to be one of Apple's shortcomings: Toshiba's chief executive Atsutoshi Nishida said that "unfortunately, we're not able to satisfy 100 percent of Apple's requirements."

Fluffpod offers cases for iPod nano

Building on the success of Fluffpod's Fluffer for iPod, Fluffpod today released two cases for Apple's iPod nano. The new Fluffpod nano cases come in a super soft shiny white or a delicate yet bold pink. "The moment I saw the iPod nano released, I knew what would be really sexy and fun. This Fluffpod nano sleeve was designed to feel super soft with a touch of really fun character on top," said Scott Lopatin, creator of Fluffpod, which is based in New York City. Fluffpod nano is available for immediate shipping for Apple's iPod nano for $10 in either white or pink. Fluffpod nano can be purchased online and via select New York based specialty stores.